ZIP CITY

Curated by Emily Carol Burns in collaboration with Left Field Gallery
On view August 1–September 1, 2020

FEATURED ARTISTS
Nancy Y. Kim / Theresa Daddezio / Sarah Grass / Sidney Mullis / Calli Moore / Seldon Yuan / Lauriston Avery

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CURATORIAL STATEMENT

Zip City features the work of seven artists and bring together painting, sculpture, work on paper, and mixed media work. All pieces included in the show incorporate line as a primary element—whether forming the strokes of hand-written text, rhythmic biological forms, criss-crossing threads, dyed sand-coated wooden arches, or deep channels carved into thick paper. Line can evoke a feeling of the liminal—a transient quality, like electricity passing through a live wire. The beginnings and ends fade away and the medium is the message—the paths taken leave behind the memory of the journey.

I wanted to curate a show where each work and each artist's approach was quite different—from vastly different materials and themes—but were tied together in an uncanny, non-verbal way. The artists all approached line in unique ways and I felt that the show, although it had a lot of variety, was also very cohesive and felt like a complete thought when the viewer entered the space. Curating a physical exhibition during Covid was a different experience, but it felt really wonderful to be able to have real work in a real space when so many shows had either been postponed or online. I worked closely with the gallery to realize the show, even though I couldn't travel to install in person.